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Top Animation News: Disenchantment, Incredibles 2, Harmony and more!

Top Animation News is a weekly column that rounds up the biggest, best and breaking stories from the world of animation. This edition covers May 18 to 25, 2018.

Be spellbound by the first Disenchantment images.

The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening has partnered with Netflix for his first new series in nearly two decades, Disenchantment. The fantastical adult animation takes place in the decrepit kingdom of Dreamland and follows boozy Princess Bean (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), her pointy-eared pal Elfo (Nat Faxon) and her personal demon Luci (Eric Andre) as they contend with creatures of lore. Disenchantment is being produced by Rough Draft Studios.

The super-heroic sequel to Disney and Pixar’s 2004 smash hit, The Incredibles, is projected to bring in more than $140 million at the North American box office over its premiere weekend. Coming to cinemas June 15, this will overtake Finding Dory’s $135 million launch to be the biggest-ever domestic debut for an animated film. The Incredibles 2 sees the return of director Brad Bird, alongside voice cast members Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson.

The latest edition of Toon Boom’s industry-standard animation software,Harmony 15, just got even better. The world-leading digital solutions provider has heard user feedback and responded with the Toon Boom Harmony 15.0.3 patch release. The update will offer a variety of enhancements and bug fixes, and is available to all users who opted forSilver and Gold support with their licence or have adesktop subscription.

The WWE’s cosmic comedic cartoon,Dallas & Robo, is launching its eight-episode first season next week and has just released its first trailer. Produced by ShadowMachine (BoJack Horseman) and Big Jump Productions inToon Boom Storyboard Pro andHarmony, the series stars Kat Dennings as space trucker Dallas and wrestler-turned-actor John Cena as Robo, an emotional cowboy-hat-wearing robot. Dallas & Robo will be available to stream on the WWE’s YouTube channel on May 30.

Watch the Dallas & Robo trailer above or truck on over to “Syfy Wire” for more.

Winter is coming with George R. R. Martin’s The Ice Dragon.

Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin is entering the realm of family films with an adaptation of his 1980 children’s book, The Ice Dragon. The animated feature will be produced by Warner Bros. Animation Group and is set outside of his Game of Thrones Seven Kingdoms universe. The Ice Dragon follows a young girl, Adara, who befriends the eponymous mythical creature and must call upon her companion to defend her world.

Venture over to “Deadline” for more on George R. R. Martin’s The Ice Dragon.

Herald Entertainment is growing its offerings with Toon Boom software.

Production company Herald Entertainment has animation studios in the United States, Costa Rica and Jakarta. Its past work has largely been for the education community and it is now expanding into coproductions and service work — and it’s using Toon Boom digital solutions to get there. Its latest series, Ryan Defrates: Secret Agent, was created in Storyboard Pro and Harmony and is a prime example of how Herald Entertainment can bring together talent, tools and training for amazing animation.

Be inspired by Herald Entertainment’s international growth on theToon Boom blog.

Michael B. Jordan to star in Rooster Teeth’s gen:Lock.

Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan will be voicing lead character Julian Chase in Rooster Teeth Animation’s upcoming anime-style series, gen:Lock. Set in a dystopian future, the toon follows the planet’s last standing free society as it attempts to survive a world war waged largely by human-controlled giant robots. gen:Lock will be available on Rooster Teeth’s streaming platform, First, and released later in 2018.

World-leading animation software Toon Boom has announced its first Authorized Training Centre (ATC) in Argentina, Escuela de Animación Y Artes Digitales (ESCAAD). Founded in 2009 in the city of Mendoza, ESCAAD offers students professional-level training to prepare them for careers in film, television, video games and more using state-of-the-art technologies and tools. It offers a variety of educational options for those interested in learning Toon Boom’s digital solutions, ranging from two- to four-month courses to short seminars.

The children’s content division of Brazil’s Grupo Globo, Gloob, has brought its Emmy Kids Award-nominated seriesS.O.S. Fairy Manu (S.O.S. Fada Manu) and Time to Rock (Hora del Rock)to Uruguay’s free public broadcast channel, TV Ciudad. This comes at a time when Brazilian animation is receiving more acclaim than ever, being the focal country at next month’s Annecy International Animated Film Festival. SOS Fada Manu is produced in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Harmony by Boutique Filmes and Lightstar Studios, and follows a young girl apprenticing to be a fairy godmother.

Animation has never been bigger in the Big Star state, offering huge promise to the Texas film industry. From Rooster Teeth Animation (RWBY) to Powerhouse Animation (Netflix’s Castlevania), studios are attracting, growing and employing talent in the region; the latter expects to hire an additional 40 professionals by the end of 2018. Texan hubs like Austin also offer more affordable living situations for animators than better-known cities like Los Angeles or Toronto.

See why else Texas is becoming an animation destination on “Texas Monthly”.

What Top Animation News were you most excited about this week? Was there something we forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments below!